Photos of Mongolia. Modern Mongolia - what is it like? Communication and Internet

Mongolia is located in the central part of Europe. The borders of the state do not have access to the sea. However, the state has an interesting political and geographical history.

The official religion of the country is Tibetan Buddhism. This is reflected both in religious architecture and in the mentality of the population.

But in the cities of the country there are also numerous temples for Christians, Muslims and people of other religions.

Ulaanbaatar

This glorious city was founded at the beginning of the 17th century and today is the capital of the state. It is interesting for many things, at least for the life of the townspeople.

In the cultural and political center of Mongolia, some people live in yurts and use horses for transportation. But about a quarter of the entire population of the country lives here, and the city has a sufficiently developed modern infrastructure.

One of the most beautiful and favorite places for tourists is the central square, where the Bell of Peace is located. You can also see the memorial, built in honor of Genghis Khan, on the site of which there used to be the mausoleum of Sukhe Bator.

It had political significance, as this national hero declared the country's independence from China. The Winter Palace of the last emperor and the largest Gandan monastery in Mongolia are also beautiful.

In addition, there are numerous interesting museums in Ulaanbaatar, in particular the National Toy Museum and the Military Museum.

Khubsugul

Rich in beautiful natural sites and picturesque places, the city is often called the "Blue Pearl". This nickname is due to the fact that on the territory of Khubsugul there is a lake of the same name, dating back about two million years.

It is the deepest in Central Asia and is connected to Lake Baikal through the Selenga. Tourist bases are concentrated in the Khankha region. In its vicinity is the shamanic sanctuary Arvan-Gurvan-obo. This religious and historical place is located on a rocky cape.

In this beautiful place, numerous obo are found, which were used by shamans for witchcraft and evidence of sacrificial rituals of cult ministers.

Karakoram

From the point of view of history and archeology, the city of Karakorum can be considered the most beautiful place in Mongolia. The ruins of this ancient capital of the Mongol Empire are found southwest of Ulaanbaatar. It was the political center for only 40 years. After that, the capital was moved to Beijing.

Of the ancient buildings, the palace of Khan Ogedei, the quarters of artisans and numerous religious buildings, which are still being explored by archaeologists, have been preserved. Not far from it is the famous Erdeni-Dzu monastery.

It is one of the largest medieval Buddhist buildings of this purpose. In the vicinity of the city, you can also see beautiful places where dinosaurs once lived. Numerous evidence of their habitation has been found in the form of bones. Bronze Age rock carvings have also been found here.

Khovd

To the west of Ulaanbaatar is the city of Khovd. It is connected with the capital by bus routes. The settlement founded by pastoralists later became a large trading center between Mongolia and Russia. Today the city is a major industrial center. From it you can start the study of western Mongolia.

At the end of the 18th century, a fenced settlement of the conquerors was erected here by the Manchu commanders. Currently, it is presented as beautiful historical ruins. Beautiful places north of the ruins are usually preferred for hiking. Tourists often walk on rugged and dry hills.

You can also visit the Khovd Museum of History, which displays various exhibits of the pre-Mongolian and Buddhist eras. Such values ​​will surprise every person who visits them.

Darkhan

This city is practically of no value for lovers of historical monuments. Not everyone can call tourist places beautiful. However, Darkhan is the second largest city in Mongolia and the industrial center of the country.

It may be of interest to inspect the infrastructure. This is a typical Mongolian concentration of industrial facilities. Numerous factories and combines can be seen walking along the streets of the city or from the observation deck.

Also here are laid railways of international importance, modern telecommunications and energy sources.

The city is an excellent showcase of modern architecture and industry. Due to its importance in the development of the country, this city rightfully belongs to one of the significant places in Mongolia, distinguished by its unique beauty.

The country of ancient nomads - Mongolia - has been rapidly changing in recent years. For centuries, the Mongols lived mostly on wild land, leading a nomadic lifestyle. However, civilization with all its pluses and minuses came to them. Local residents from the steppes began to move to the cities. Modern Mongolia - what is it like? See the series of photographs "Mongolian (urban) families" by French photographer Lucile Chombart de Lauwe.

20 PHOTOS

1. Mongolia is really changing. “This country is in a 'transitional phase',” French photographer Lucile Chombart de Lauwe, who has been documenting these changes for several years, wrote on her website. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
2. “Changes are happening very quickly, they are not connected with the seasons, or with the weather or the habits of nomads, but with the rapid development of a market economy,” writes the author of these photos. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
3. The photographs taken by Lucille show the process of transformation and urbanization that is taking place in Mongolia today. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
4. The Mongols for centuries lived in yurts in the vast expanses of the steppe, and not in cramped apartment buildings. For many of them, moving to the cities was not an easy step. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
5. “In my photo project, I focused on the attitude of Mongolian families to their new environment. In other words, I just watched how the Mongols feel and use the new space,” the photographer writes. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
6. Lucile Chombart de Lauwe visited Mongolia for the first time in 2007. Even then, she was amazed at how fast cities grew there. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
7. Interestingly, more than half of the urban population of Mongolia living in cities does not live in high-rise buildings or houses, but in settlements in traditional yurts. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
8. The photographer wrote that she had no problems communicating with the Mongols. She stressed that they are exceptionally friendly and open people. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
9. Settlement of yurts in the suburbs of one of the Mongolian cities. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
10. Lucille started her photography project in Mongolia in 2011. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
11. Less than half of the Mongols who settled in cities live in multi-storey buildings. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
12. Elderly people in Mongolia are not used to living in large settlements. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
13. Traditional Mongolian yurt. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
14. Inside one of the yurts visited by photographer Lucile Chombart de Lauwe. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
15. The house of the Mongolian family. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).
16. Yurts are often equipped like modern houses. (Photo: Lucile Chombart de Lauwe).

I am married to a citizen of Mongolia. My wife and I used to live in Russia, but last year she had to return home for a long time on business. I went with her.

Six months ago, I received a temporary residence permit in Mongolia. I'll tell you how we live here and why I don't really want to return to Russia.

Why go to Mongolia

Mongolia is the largest and most sparsely populated country in the world. Only 3 million people live in it, and half of them are in the capital - Ulaanbaatar. In other parts of the country, the population density is 1 person per 1 square kilometer.

Previously, there were continuous pastures, yurts and herds in Mongolia, but now skyscrapers have been built in the capital, solar power plants have appeared outside the city, and new iPhones are brought here earlier than in Russia. But traditions are still strong here. Coca-Cola is advertised on TV by shepherds, on holidays everyone dresses in national clothes, and in the city you can easily meet a man on a horse - and this will not surprise anyone.

Mongolia is a normal country if you are a freelancer and work remotely. It's inexpensive, tasty and little bureaucracy. The main attractions are natural. You should definitely visit the Gobi, the Mongolian Altai, ancient mountain monasteries, lakes. If you are interested in Lamaist Buddhism, this is the best place for enlightenment. There are hundreds of datsans - local monasteries, educated lamas and thousands of relics.

Mongolia is also the birthplace of dinosaurs. The largest skeletons were found here. In the photo - the skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex in the lobby of the Hun Mall shopping center - there is also a branch of the Mongolian Dinosaur Museum, while its main building is closed for reconstruction

Visa

Citizens of Russia can come to Mongolia without a visa for 30 days. So that I could stay longer, my wife issued me an invitation. He was given a visa for three months. With her, I entered the country and applied for an analogue of our temporary residence permit.

It is much easier to obtain a residence permit in Mongolia than in Russia. The whole process took several hours over a couple of days. You do not need to confirm knowledge of the language, apostilles and notarized translations are also not needed. Two months later, they took the finished permit without queues, nerves, heaps of papers and certificates. In Russia, obtaining a passport will take more time and effort.

I can renew my residence permit every year. With him, I can work in Mongolia and even get state medical insurance.
I didn't have to deal with bureaucracy. When I applied for a residence permit, I made a mistake and brought the wrong piece of paper. They called me and said that I can bring the necessary document when I go to get my permission.

All documents must be submitted in person, but getting them is very simple. 25 types of certificates are issued by a special terminal: on divorce and marriage, on non-conviction, a temporary passport. You pay 1000 tugriks (24 R) and get a document with a seal. Such machines are in every state institution and at the post office.

Information terminal

Money and banks

The national currency of Mongolia is the Tugrik. The exchange rate of the tugrik to the ruble is about 40-43 tugriks per ruble. Cards are accepted in almost every store. But you still need cash to pay the taxi driver or buy groceries at the market.

The easiest way to pay bills is through banking applications. The two main banks are Khaan Bank and Golomt Bank. For a foreigner, to issue an account and a card, a passport is enough.

Screenshots of the banking application "Khaan-Bank"

You can withdraw money from a Russian card at any ATM. If you withdraw amounts from $ 100 from a Tinkoff-Bank card, then there are no commissions at all.

Among our family and friends, everyone has loans. The most popular are car loans and mortgages. The average rate on consumer and car loans in Mongolia is 20-30% per annum, on mortgages - 8%.

Job

The easiest way to stay in the country on a work visa. Local businesses need engineers, builders, programmers. Schools and universities employ foreign teachers. I was interviewed for a job as a history teacher at a Russian-language school in a provincial town, but changed my mind at the last moment: the salary there is low.

42 tugriks cost 1 R when I wrote the article.

Above all, the labor of technical specialists is paid - 5-10 million tugriks (119,000-238,000 R). Foreign employees with knowledge of English are most valued in mining and construction companies. They are paid several times more than a Mongolian of the same qualification. Earnings of such specialists - from 5 to 10 thousand dollars a month.

The salary of a foreign teacher in Ulaanbaatar is 2-4 million tugriks (47-95 thousand rubles), in a provincial town - up to 1.5 million tugriks (36,000 R).

The average salary in Mongolia is from 600 thousand to 1 million tugriks (14,000-24,000 R) in the provinces, 1-1.5 million tugriks (24,000-36,000 R) in the capital. According to statistics, Mongolian women earn an average of 200,000 tugriks less than men.

24 000 R average salary in the province.

In Mongolia, I write texts and articles for Russian websites. The wife works as a translator.

Capital

In Mongolia, as in Russia, the capital and provinces live very differently. All business, culture and work are concentrated in Ulaanbaatar. Therefore, capital prices are several times higher than provincial ones. Outside of Ulaanbaatar, life is slow, poor and cheap.

For several months we lived in Ulaanbaatar, but then we moved to the small town of Darkhan. Living in the capital is unhealthy because of the environment.

The main reason for the poor ecology of the city is yurts and private houses. They are popular because they are cheap to live in: maintenance costs will be about 100,000 tugriks (2400 R) per month. Ulaanbaatar is located in a valley between low mountains, so the wind does not blow the city well. Private areas are located along the slopes - everyone lives in yurts and houses, and they heat their homes with coal and firewood. All the smoke descends into the city and does not go anywhere.

Of the 1.4 million inhabitants of Ulaanbaatar, 350,000 live in yurts, 450,000 live in simple houses, and only 600,000 live in apartments. Living in a yurt is cheap - you spend only on firewood, coal and electricity. Newlyweds often move into a yurt after their wedding to save up for a mortgage.

The situation with the environment is worsened by enterprises and 230 thousand cars and buses. It's hard to breathe outside: itchy in the throat. In winter, clothes absorb the smell of smoke, which cannot be removed. People are wearing protective masks. The concentration of harmful substances in the air of the most polluted areas is 24 times higher than the norm.

According to Mongolian statistics, 20% of the inhabitants of Ulaanbaatar die from air pollution: respiratory infections, blockage of the lungs, heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer.

The haze below is not clouds, but smog

Everyone who has money tries to live outside the city, closer to the forests and away from the city smog. But you still have to go to work in Ulaanbaatar. Families often leave to live outside the city at the end of pregnancy in order to give birth and raise children in a normal environment.

Once upon a time, Ulaanbaatar was a small cozy Soviet city. In the 90s, business centers, ugly residential complexes and shopping centers began to be randomly and thoughtlessly built in it. The urban infrastructure is poorly developed in the Mongolian capital. There are constant traffic jams and terrible buildings without normal yards, parks and walking places.

Due to the ecology and the uncomfortableness of Ulaanbaatar, we moved to the small town of Darkhan with a population of only 100,000 people. It takes three hours to get to Darkhan from the capital by car.

The monument to Genghis Khan in Tsongzhin Boldog is the largest equestrian monument in the world, its height is 40 m. There is a staircase and a museum inside, and an observation deck on the horse's head. Photo by Stanislav Fursov

Provinces

Most cities in Mongolia are small settlements that resemble Russian urban-type settlements. In addition to Ulaanbaatar, the developed cities are Darkhan and Erdenet.

Darkhan has fresh air, no traffic jams, and is many times cheaper than in the capital. The city is small and quiet. There is a swimming pool and fitness rooms, stadiums, shopping centers, coffee shops, although the Mongols drink little coffee. The city is small and very quiet.

View of Darkhan. In the photo - the main district of the city and the center

City Park. There are almost no trees in it: they grow poorly in Mongolia and grow low

Housing

You can rent a one-room or even two-room apartment in Darkhan for 250-400 thousand tugriks per month (6000-9500 R). For comparison, the average price in Ulaanbaatar is 400-700 thousand tugriks (9500-16 700 R).

Apartments are usually rented unfurnished, they charge 3-6 months in advance. With furniture, apartments can be more expensive by 100-200 thousand tugriks (2400-4800 R). We pay 400,000 tugriks (9500 R) for a furnished two-room apartment. The owner wrote in the ad: "I rent an apartment with furniture for foreigners."

Studio with furniture in Ulaanbaatar for 550,000 tugriks (13,000 R) per month

It is best to look for housing on Facebook and "Ynegye". These are the two main sites in Mongolia. "Ynegy" is the main bulletin board, but ads appear faster in Facebook groups. We found our apartment on Facebook.

Employment contracts are not very common here. Everyone basically agrees in words. There are no special requirements for the tenant, the main thing is to pay a fee. From me the owner asked only for a copy of the passport.

We pay 9500 R per month for renting a furnished two-room apartment.

We pay utility bills only by meters. Electricity and water are more expensive than in my native Voronezh, but there is no payment for housing. Therefore, the amount is about the same as in Russia: in winter we pay about 140,000 tugriks (3300 R).

It costs 4,000 tugriks (95 R) per month to clean the entrance and take out the garbage. The cleaning lady knocks on the door during the day and picks up the garbage bag. Many residents simply leave garbage in the stairwell in the morning. I hardly explained that I would take out the garbage myself.

Now we want to buy an apartment in Mongolia. The average price of a two-room apartment in Darkhan is 30-50 million tugriks (715,000-1,190,000 R). In Ulaanbaatar, for such an amount, you can buy a one-room apartment, and prices for two-room apartments in the capital start at 90 million tugriks (2,140,000 R).

In the summer, a man on a horse comes to our yard in Darkhan every morning. He sells fresh milk. From 8 in the morning he starts shouting under the windows: “Buy milk!”

But the residents of Darkhan themselves, who live in the private sector, also have cows.

Taxes and insurance

Foreign employees pay the same taxes and pay the same insurance as local employees. I don't pay local taxes because I earn in Russia.

The income tax for an employee is progressive - 10-25%. If you earn 3.5 million tugriks per month (83,000 R), the tax is 25%. My friends from Russia who work in Mongolia as teachers and earn 2 million tugriks a month (50,000 R) pay a tax of 15%.

Voluntary medical insurance costs me 8400 tugriks per month (200 R). Personnel employees pay 2% of the salary, another 2% is paid for by the employer.

200 R per month I pay for health insurance.

Medical insurance will cover the cost of up to 1.32 million tugriks (31,400 R) in public clinics and up to half of the costs in private clinics. Under insurance, you can get a 50-80% discount on medicines in state pharmacies according to a specific list - there are 380 items in total. Emergency surgeries like removing the appendix are free. If the case is complicated or you are in the hospital, it is customary to thank the doctors.

You do not need to attach yourself to polyclinics - where you come, they will serve you there. It is only important to show the policy.

Social insurance is deducted by the employer - 10-12% of salary before taxes. To receive a pension, you must pay insurance for 20 years.

Cashback for everyone

It is customary to keep all checks in Mongolia. Each of them has a Quarcode and a Numerical Code. If you scan them with the special Ebarimt application, 20% of the VAT paid will be returned at the beginning of next year. VAT in Mongolia is 10%, so at the end of the year you will be refunded approximately 2% of the amount spent. In a year, we ran into 80,000 tugriks (1900 R). Most small shops don't issue receipts, and markets don't either. Therefore, most of the purchases are still not supported by checks.

Once a month, money is raffled among all checks - from 10 thousand to 1 million tugriks (240-24 000 R). We have never won, but our relatives once won 20,000 tugriks (480 R).

Quarcode check and Ebarimt app

Transport

All Mongols dream of a car. Used Japanese foreign cars are cheap here. Within 4 million tugriks (95,000 R) you can buy a 10-year-old Toyota or Hyundai Sonata. Not so old Toyota Prius will cost 10 million tugriks (238,000 R).

Most cars in Mongolia are right hand drive. The most popular model is the hybrid Toyota Prius. It feels like every third or fourth car in the country.

Owning a car in Mongolia is inexpensive. A-95 gasoline costs 2050 tugriks (48 R) per liter. For that same Toyota Prius, my wife's brother pays a tax of 51,000 tugriks a year (1200 R). Compulsory insurance will cost 1% of the cost of the car per year. Fines are small: the average fine is 20,000 tugriks (475 R), for example, for improper parking or driving without a belt. There are practically no traffic police officers outside the city. Paid parking is available only in Ulaanbaatar - 500 tugriks (12 R) for half an hour.

1200 R per year - tax on a Toyota Prius car. This is the most popular car in Mongolia.

In order to reduce traffic flow, Ulaanbaatar has a restriction on driving cars with certain numbers on certain days of the week. If the car number ends with 7, it cannot be driven on Tuesdays; at 5 - on Fridays. For violation - a fine of 20,000 tugriks (475 R).

We don't have a car: we don't need it in the city. A bus ride in Ulaanbaatar costs 500 tugriks (12 R), in Darkhan - 200 tugriks (5 R). I have never traveled by bus in Darkhan: it rarely runs.

Darkhan is a small town, and here you can walk everywhere or take 10-15 minutes by bike. There are few bicycles here. Basically everyone drives illegal taxis. You go to the side of the road and the drivers themselves stop to pick you up. The fare costs 500 tugriks per person (12 R). There are usually other passengers in the cabin, three of them sit in the back seat. Taxi in Ulaanbaatar is more expensive, but still inexpensive by Russian standards: we never paid more than 10,000 tugriks (240 R) for travel from the city center to the outskirts. A short trip will cost 2000 tugriks (50 R).

You can order an official taxi by phone, but why, if at any time of the day or night, hundreds of passing drivers will gladly give you a cheaper ride. Several times in Ulaanbaatar, at the bus stop, the drivers offered us to ride with them along the way for the cost of the bus fare.

You can travel between cities by car, train or plane. There are few trains, but they are very cheap. You can drive 500 km from Ulaanbaatar to the Gobi for 10,000 tugriks (240 R). The bus between the capital and Darkhan costs the same. Most often we travel with private traders, whom we find in groups on Facebook. A trip with such a driver will cost the same 10,000 tugriks, but it will take 3 hours instead of 4 by bus. If there is no time to look for a driver, there are always other truckers at the bus station, but they will take you already for 15,000 tugriks (350 R).

When you need to go out of town to nature, somewhere away from the main roads, it is better to take a car. We take from relatives. Here they recognize internal Russian rights, but there are almost no Mongolian traffic cops outside the city. I haven't been stopped in over a year.

Prices

An income of 50,000 R is enough to deny yourself almost nothing in a provincial town, buy a used Japanese car, rent an apartment and save money.

50,000 R per month is enough to not deny yourself anything in the Mongolian Darkhan.

Appliances, clothing and household items made in China and Korea are 1.5-2 times cheaper than in Russia. For example, jeans will cost 30,000 tugriks (715 R). We try to buy Mongolian warm clothes and accessories. They are normal and inexpensive, made of natural fur and leather. It turns out several times cheaper than in Russia. A women's sheepskin coat here costs 200-400 thousand tugriks (4750-9500 R). The skin is mostly cow, sheep fur.

Communication and Internet

I have a Unitel SIM card with a special tariff for mobile Internet. For 15,000 tugriks (350 R) per month, I have 15 GB and 20 minutes of calls.

In order to make cheap calls to Russia, I activate a special service for 5000 tugriks (120 R), according to which I have 30 minutes per month for calls to Russia.

The easiest way to replenish your account is through the banking application. There are no payment terminals in Mongolia. You can buy a prepaid card or replenish your account through an intermediary - most often this is a seller in a store. The intermediary enters into an agreement with the operator. When you give him money, he writes an SMS to the operator with your number and payment amount. The money is credited to your account, and the intermediary receives a small percentage.

350 R per month I pay for the phone.

In all the cities and villages where I was, I caught 3G. Free Wi-Fi is available on buses, in most cafes and shopping centers. Home Internet is available in almost every family, even in yurts - via a satellite dish.

Cooking in Mongolia is simple, but insanely delicious. The basis of local cuisine is meat and dough. There are 20 times more cows and sheep in Mongolia than people. Therefore, they eat a lot of meat. Everyone has the same favorite dishes: buuzy (similar to manti), tsuivan (noodles with meat and vegetables), khushuri (similar to chebureks), suute tse (salted tea with milk). Standard lunch or dinner: tsuiwang, soup and rice with meat and vegetables.

Tsuiwang in the foreground, huushurs in the background

I am from Voronezh. They say we make first-class meat. But it loses to Mongolian meat: the local is much tastier and juicier than ours. Mongolian farmers attribute this to the fact that Mongolian cows graze on wild pastures, eat a variety of grass and generally lead a happier life than animals in barns.

A kilogram of beef in the market costs 6,000 tugriks (140 R). If you agree with the shepherds, you can buy meat in bulk from them at 3,000 tugriks per kilogram (70 R). For a week we eat 3-4 kg of meat, and here it does not seem that this is a lot. Almost every Mongolian family has a separate freezer for meat - in Russia they sell ice cream in these. In winter, boxes and bags of meat are stored on the balcony.

My wife and I eat 4 kg of meat a week in Mongolia.

Two refrigerators in a Mongolian family is absolutely normal. The second refrigerator is filled with meat for the summer. And in winter, from October to March, it is easier to store meat on the balcony

The choice of other products, even in large Mongolian stores, is modest. Fruits do not grow in Mongolia, so they are twice as expensive as ours: a kilogram of apples costs from 6,000 tugriks per kg (140 R). Chinese fruits are inexpensive but tasteless.

Cheapest to buy in the markets. Everything is the same as in stores, but about 30% cheaper. Pasteurized milk in a package costs 3,000 tugriks (70 R), fresh milk in a bottle - 800 tugriks (19 R).

Cereals, fruits, sweets, household chemicals, cosmetics, canned food in Mongolia are 1.5-2 times more expensive than in Russia. It is more profitable to buy in the Russian border town of Kyakhta - there is a huge Absolut hypermarket 200 meters from the checkpoint. It's two hours drive from our house, not counting the border crossing. You can cross the border in an hour, or you can stay for 6 hours. Queues are always only on the Russian side.

Many products familiar to Russia are not available in Mongolia at all, such as cottage cheese and kefir. Very small selection of fish, they are poorly versed in it. On local canned food they write: “Fish”.

Lunch in an ordinary dining room costs 5,000 tugriks (120 R), in an average restaurant - 2-3 times more expensive. Portions are huge. You only need to order one dish. If the menu says "chicken", it means that they will bring you chicken, rice and some salads. We have never managed to spend more than 60,000 tugriks (1400 R) on dinner in a restaurant.

1400 R is the maximum amount that my wife and I paid for dinner at a restaurant in Mongolia.

Leaving a tip is not accepted. If you leave, you will most likely get them returned. Tipping is more or less accustomed to only in large metropolitan restaurants, which are often visited by tourists.

For this lunch in a canteen in the center of Ulaanbaatar, we paid 12,000 tugriks (285 rubles). There's about half a kilo of beef and lamb

Medicine

In free clinics, there are queues and appointments for procedures weeks in advance. Cheaper and easier for 20,000 tugriks (500 R) to go to an appointment with a paid doctor.

Most of the doctors we encountered here seemed to us more professional than their Russian counterparts. Many of them have studied in Korea and China, speak foreign languages ​​and read the latest scientific publications.

500 R is a doctor's appointment.

But people do not always trust doctors - many people prefer to be treated with folk methods, it is popular to turn to shamans. Folk medicine here is based on meat and milk rather than herbs. “If the pancreas hurts, you need to eat marmot meat. Mare's milk helps with coughs. For women in labor, there is nothing better than lamb meat.

Pharmacies have a lot of Korean, Chinese, German medicines. For a year I have not seen a single shelf with homeopathy.

From the unpleasant: Russian medicines in Mongolia are twice as expensive as in Russia. For example, ACC in Mongolia costs 12,000 tugriks (280 R), in our country - 120 R; antibiotic ciprofloxacin - 2000 tugriks (48 R), we have 12 R.

Language and communication

I don't speak Mongolian. I know several hundred words and several dozen expressions. This is enough to explain to the seller, taxi driver or neighbor at the feast. I go to communicate with civil servants with my wife.

It is better to address older people in Russian, and young people in English. Young people in Mongolia know English better than most Russian peers. An American schoolteacher is in the order of things here. In the 90s they came as volunteers. Everyone got used to them, and in order for them to come more often, they began to pay 1-2 thousand dollars. Spending in Mongolia is small, the country is exotic, so many come with their families.

If you master at least elementary spoken Mongolian, you will be respected by everyone around. At least trying to speak Mongolian is enough to arouse sympathy. I learned phrases to say hello and ask how you are: “How are you celebrating the New Year?”, “How is work?” - people are pleased that I try.

Nature and climate

Mongolia is very beautiful. There are mountains, steppes, forests, deserts. If you like trips out of town, there will be places to go every weekend.

This is what you can see after driving 50 km from Ulaanbaatar. Photo: Stanislav Fursov

But this can be seen if you drive away from Ulaanbaatar for 500-1000 km. Photo: Oleg Ermolov

The climate in Mongolia is continental: summers are dry and hot, and winters are sunny but frosty. Due to the dryness of the air, the Mongolian -25 ° C are perceived more easily than the Voronezh -15 ° C. I wear the same warm jacket that I wore in Voronezh, and I don't get cold. But sometimes in winter the temperature drops to -40 ° C - here it is better to dress warmly.

The main advantage of the Mongolian climate is that there is almost always sunshine here. Rare rainy days are perceived as a holiday.

It was me in national outerwear - dele - went to the hill for spring water. I feel very hot even though it is -30°C outside

On weekends, I walk on the nearest hills - these are such small mountains. The hills are not high - 100-400 meters - but by the time you reach the top, your head will be refreshed for a whole week.

There are many wild animals in Mongolia: wolves, marmots, snakes, deer. Walking in unfamiliar areas can be dangerous. Dogs are especially dangerous in the private sector and near lonely yurts in nature. Almost all residents of yurts keep huge dogs to protect their homes and herds. In the yurt regions, dogs huddle in packs. Several times I was almost bitten while jogging through the surrounding hills.

You can not swim in local rivers in unfamiliar places. The rivers in Mongolia are almost all mountainous, with a fast and unpredictable course. In every village you will be told about people who thought they were excellent swimmers, but were swept away by the current and never seen again.

Sopka Bayan-Ull. This is where my wife spent her childhood.

I often walk outside the city. Here are the standard landscapes 10 minutes walk from the outskirts of Darkhan

A typical yurt outside the city. The shepherd and his family live in it all year round. It is not visible in the photo, but there are solar panels at the back of the yurt. The house has electricity and satellite TV with dozens of channels.

family ties

For the Mongols, the family is the main value in life. Not just dad and mom, but all relatives at once: uncles and aunts, cousins, husbands and wives of distant relatives.

In the summer we went to a meeting of relatives of my wife's grandfather from my mother's side. 150 people gathered. Relatives with whom we constantly keep in touch and see each other - 50 of them. I grew up as the only child in the family, and this number of relatives is unusual for me.

For the first few months after the wedding, I was constantly meeting someone and eating a lot: each family set itself the goal of feeding the Russian son-in-law the best.

Eventually

For me, life in Mongolia has more pluses than minuses.

I like being part of a large Mongolian family: I don't have that in Russia. I like wild nature a few dozen meters from the city. In Mongolia, I can quickly go to the desert, mountains or lakes - and these will be very inexpensive trips. With a small income in Mongolia, I can afford any leisure, car and savings. If I earn 2-3 times more, I can buy myself a two-story house outside the city.

I've come to terms with the negatives. In the cold, you need to dress warmer, and from the smog of Ulaanbaatar, you can leave the city. But I really miss the cozy streets, normal sidewalks and tall trees.

While we are not planning to leave. I like to watch how Mongolia develops and changes. In 10-20 years, the country will be unrecognisable, and I want to see the path that it will take.

Mongolia is a country of eternally blue skies, endless emerald steppes and vivid impressions. In the homeland of Genghis Khan, travelers will find an amazing mix of contrasts: traditional yurts here border on modern skyscrapers, a hot desert with snow-capped peaks, and a harsh winter from -40 ° C on the thermometer is replaced by a dry, hot summer, when the thermometer inexorably reaches for the mark + 40°C. There are 13 brave horses per inhabitant of the country, so you will meet shepherds here more often than clerks. In the treasury of Mongolia there are many amazing sights that can amaze, amaze and fall in love with you at first sight.

See photos of the best sights of Mongolia, all pictures are supplemented with a description:

1. Monument to Genghis Khan (Golden Whip) - the majestic statue of Genghis Khan, which is considered the tallest equestrian statue in the world. Around the 40-meter monument, 36 columns are installed, which symbolize 36 khans ruling after Genghis Khan. According to legend, it was in this place that the history of the Mongol Empire began: on the top of the hill, young Temujin found a golden whip, which symbolized good luck. It was a sign that the gods bless the future khan to unite the nomadic tribes of the Mongols.

2. Gorkhi-Terelj - a national park, spread out in a ring of granite rocks, which the human imagination has turned into a "sleeping dinosaur", "a man with a book" and "a huge tortoise Melchii-khal". In Gorkhi Terelj, you can also visit the Dinosaur Sculpture Park, the Aryaabal Buddhist Temple, take pictures against the backdrop of the Hagin-Khar glacial lake, and walk along the wooden bridge over the Tola River.

3. Choijin Lamyn Sum is a huge temple complex in the center of Ulaanbaatar. This is the former residence of the famous oracle Luvsanhaidawa. Today it houses the "Museum of the History of Religion"

4. Gobi - a huge desert stretching from Altai to Nanshan. It describes the entire Mongolia with a sandy arc. The Gobi seems to be drawn by nature itself from yellow sand, salt marshes and rocks, between which hot air vibrates

5. Palace of the Bogd Gegen - a majestic complex of buildings in the center of the capital. This is the temple of the "living Buddha" and the residence of the head of the Buddhist community. The complex consists of a winter and a summer palace; numerous museums are located within their walls, in particular, the National Museum of Mongolia.

6. Gandan Monastery is one of the nine wonders of Mongolia. The Gandan Tagchinlin hiid complex, whose name translates as “The Great Chariot of All-Encompassing Joy,” includes temples, suburgans, pagodas, and a Buddhist university.

7. Khubsugul - the deepest lake in the country with crystal clear water, which is suitable for drinking in its raw form. The lake was formed in the crater of an extinct volcano. It is often called "the younger brother of Baikal".

8. Manjushri-Khiyd - Buddhist monastery, the residence of the Khubilgans of Donkhor-Manjushri-Khutukhty.

9. The historical complex "Mongolia of the 13th century" is an open-air museum where you can see the country through the eyes of Genghis Khan. The park is located in the small homeland of the legendary commander.

10. Khustain-Nurtu is the national park in which the largest number of horses in the country lives. The feature of the park is that any visitor for $100 can give a name to a newborn stallion.

11. Erdene-Zuu is the oldest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, which has survived to this day. Its name translates as "Hundred Treasures". During the construction of the monastery complex, which consisted of 62 temples, materials from the fires and ruins of the glorious capital of Karakorum were used.

12. The Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts is the first museum in Mongolia, founded in the residence of the Bogd Khan. Here you can see the walls of caves with petroglyphs drawn by primitive people.

13. Elyn-Am - a picturesque deep gorge in the Gobi-Gurvan-Saikhan National Park, named the Valley of Eagles in honor of the bearded vulture.

14. Sukhbaataryn Talbay - the central square of the capital of Mongolia, dedicated to Genghis Khan. The square is surrounded by the Government Palace, the Museum of Mongolian Statehood, the Palace of Culture, the Lenin Club, the Opera and Ballet Theatre. In addition to the monument to Genghis Khan himself, there are monuments of Samba, Zorig and Marco Polo, as well as a stele with engraved text and the melody of the national anthem.

15. Buddha International Park is located at the foot of Zaisan Hill - an observation deck that overlooks the entire Ulaanbaatar. The main decoration of the park is a 23-meter statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, made of "yulaet".

In general, it is surprising how a country that many centuries ago created the largest empire in the history of mankind, tilted many strong civilizations and forced them to pay tribute, today looks so miserable and poor.
Everything that is connected with the life of people here is sad. Moreover, this repents not only of the deaf province, but also of the capital ...
Ulaanbaatar is as sad as the whole country as a whole, although there are some here and here on Geliki.
Maybe this is the fate of all once powerful civilizations - first to be at the peak and rule the world, and then slide to the very bottom, vegetating in mud, poverty and hopeless well ....?
Who knows... But that's exactly what happened to Mongolia. See for yourself.

2. Mongolia is the 11th largest country in the world. But only 3.5 million people live here. 3 times less than lives in the rest of the world!!! The Mongols are leaving their country, everyone who can.
There are only a few asphalt roads in the country. The rest is the most ordinary primers.
Those roads that are there look just like the roads in any Russian village...

3. Near the border with Russia, even the houses in the villages look Russian...
Traditionally, the Mongols live in yurts, roaming the steppe. But many in our time have long since settled in small towns and villages, located, as a rule, along asphalt roads. It is understandable, at least there is life near the road, not like in the boundless steppe.

4. Most of the buildings that you meet along the way look very neglected. The building was built many years ago, but no one takes care of it.
Why take care of it, they don’t even repair it. This is where buildings fall apart over time.

5. All these photos were taken in Sukhbaatar, a rather large settlement near the Russian-Mongolian border.
And here everything is sheer sadness, sadness

6. The house of a wealthy person by local standards.

7. Shed .. Although it can be a residential building. Anything can be here.

8. And this is just a residential building ... But what? After all, a roof over your head.

9. Facilities, as usual, in the yard.

10. Mongolian deli

11. Multi-apartment residential building.

12. A typical Mongolian village. Half of the fences here are not around houses, but around yurts.

13. Most of the villages along the route are quite small - from several houses and one electric pole.

14. The Mongols are so accustomed to their yurts that even houses are often built in the same style.

15. Mongol thinks...

16. I noticed that there are practically no stray dogs and cats in Mongolia...

17. But in Mongolia, amazingly photogenic children!!! I even talk about them.

16. Such inscriptions can be found on every second house along the highway. For sale. Everyone wants to sell their house or fence and move to a more prosperous country. They go, basically, either to neighboring China, or to Russia ...

18. But Mongolia is not rich in despondency alone. Endless steppes and stunning landscapes!
This is what attracts and will continue to attract thousands of travelers here.
And I want to come back here again, but with completely different goals and program.
For example, in autumn...

Now, right on my blog, you can quickly book a hotel or buy flights.

My previous photo essays and photo stories: